Creating Geographers: Evaluating Teacher Participation in a Geography-Based Summer Academy

Abstract

As part of a geography-based minority recruiting program (MRP), teachers were asked to serve as mentors for teams of high school students interested in both postsecondary education and geography as a major discipline or career path. The goal was to determine whether teacher participation in MRP programs was an effective tool to mentor underrepresented populations in geography.One component of the program evaluation examined the impact of teacher participation in a MRP by analyzing participating teachers' classroom strategies and students' performance in the school year following the summer program. Teachers were surveyed and participated in follow-up interviews during the school year following their participation in the MRP to determine the effects of the program's professional development components. The research hoped to reveal: (a) the participant-teachers' function and role as mentors for students and the changes of participant-teachers' behaviors, and (b) how any changes in their classrooms have affected their students' understanding of geography. Data collection, reduction and analysis followed a grounded-theory approach to qualitative research.The research confirmed that participants leave professional development with an increased enthusiasm for and a better understanding of geography that they shared with their colleagues and students. Furthermore, teachers reported overcoming campus and district barriers in order to implement strategies and technologies provided during the MRP. More promising findings validate the prevailing thought that the positive energy of the MRP continues to reach into the classrooms in the following years. By understanding the impacts of professional development on participating teachers, the discipline may better recruit and retain high-achieving minority students.